‘The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.’ Aristotle

‘This world is but a canvas to our imagination.’ Henry David Thoreau

‘If you can dream it, you can do it.’ Walt Disney

Inspiration and Imagination, something every artist needs and is elusive as an island of tranquility in a sea of chaos. Many people have told me that I inspire the children and people in general with what I do. Whether creating art, playing baseball or trying to improve my life, people say that I have inspired others to try new things and look inside themselves. I have always found this interesting because I get my inspiration from these very people. Whether it be a child asking me about Mythology or adults asking me about their children or even just talking to people about a number of different topics, they have inspired me to create and use my imagination to bring the impossible possible.

A prime example is when I draw the staff at my school as cartoon characters or caricatures. It started one year around Christmas when we have our Christmas concert and staff dinner. Always after the concert, we go out for dinner and we exchange gifts, such as a Chris Kringle. I wanted to liven things up and instead of giving Christmas cards, I decided to create my own with the staff members as a caricature.

This specific year the inspiration for the caricatures came from own person exploration of a style known as Steampunk. Steampunk is a subgenre of science-fiction and fantasy that came out of literary works such as Jules Vern and H.G. Wells to name a couple. But Steampunk can be best described by breaking up the word. “Steam” represents the era mostly the early industrial age around the Victorian Era. “Punk” represents rebellion or going against the norm.

The “Punk” or rebellion goes for going against what is expected on the technology level as well as societal norms. On the technology level you see cars that are steamed powered, flying dirigibles or airships the size and look of sailing vessels or steam-powered walking machines. Yet when it comes to rebellion on the societal side it affects women the most. During this time women were relegated to subordinates to the men, covering up themselves, not taking up employment or independent behavior. That is why in Steampunk you will see many women showing cleavage or wearing short skirts and showing a lot of leg to show off their stockings.

It took quit a while to create the caricatures but once the staff received them they loved the cards and caricatures. In the next few weeks I will be posting a few of the characters from the cards because these people inspired me to create these characters. Hopefully they can spur imagination and inspire others.

Steampunk Woman 06

With the next caricature I wanted to something a bit different then the other staff. She is a wonderful person and is a great teacher. She is so soft-spoken that I was not sure if I should depict her as sexy or a tough female character. I decided to depict her as a Victorian Lady with a bit of a wild streak in her.

I drew her with a very conservative jacket but it shows a bust outline with a ribbon going down the middle of the chest. I also drew her with a parasol that matched her outfit and adorned with lace indicative to the period. The top hat was also for that time period with blue ribbon. This is some a bit against the tradition for women to wear men’s clothing.

Yet the more riské aspect was the high cut skirt showing a lot of leg and her blue stockings. It is not too daring because I was not sure if the person would be up for this look. Of all the people I drew she was the one person who I was not sure of her reaction to the caricature. Though it does go well with the overall caricature.

When she saw the caricature she enjoyed the look as well as the rebellious aspects within it. I hope you too will enjoy the sixth steampunk caricature from “Steampunk Tea Time.”

About Me

Born and raised in Toronto Canada, I am an Occasional Teacher and supply Early Childhood Educator (ECE) working with students from kindergarten to grade 5. The one thing you should know about me is that I love all art forms but especially drawing, writing and music.
I discovered that when I inspire others, they in turn inspire me. This wonderful realization is the inspiration in creating this blog. My creativity comes from the people around me. Hopefully, I can inspire others as they have inspired me.
I try and post everyTuesday and Friday along the following themes:

Tuesday – I will try to post some of my art or that of the children’s
Friday “Friday Two Cents” – I will try to post my opinion, or my two cents, on something that happened in the news or to me during the week.

But watch out during the other days of the week just in case. If I find something Inspiring, Interesting or Creative, I will do my best to share it